Whether your child attends a half-day or full-day preschool program, there’s probably a snack involved. Preschool snacks are designed to encourage community in the class, teach table manners and sharing, and even build gross and fine motor skills as kids help pour drinks and serve food. Snacks also help keep children nourished between meals, especially during full-day preschool.

Unhappy with the Snacks at Preschool?

I hear from many parents who say they’re unhappy with the snacks served at their child’s preschool—foods like cookies, vanilla pudding, and gummy fruit snacks that they wouldn’t serve at home. Many of these foods contain added sugar and ingredients like synthetic foods dyes that many parents avoid. Some preschools also serve juice, which is a growing concern among health experts, who say kids get too many calories and too much sugar from juice.

If you’re not pleased with the snacks your child gets at preschool, I urge you to talk to your child’s teacher or the preschool director. Be polite about expressing your concerns and ask if there’s a way you can work together. It’s always helpful to come with ideas and a willingness to help. If the preschool provides snacks, there may be budget and time constraints that could make something like sliced fresh fruit impossible—but unsweetened applesauce cups could work instead. If parents take turns providing snacks, the teacher might be on board with sending out a list of healthy suggestions.

20 Healthy Preschool Snacks

Here’s a list of 20 healthy preschool snacks to get you started (get a free printable of this list you can pass along to preschool teachers and directors):

*Always check with your child’s preschool concerning their policy on nuts, tree nuts, and other allergens before bringing any food.

If you’re unhappy with the snacks your child gets in other places—like on sports sidelines and at summer camp—check out my e-book The Snacktivist’s Handbook, the ultimate toolkit for any parent wanting to make a change to the typical junk food snack culture in youth sports, at school, at camp, and even improve snacking at home. It’s available as a digital download or a full-color paperback and includes more than 75 pages of ideas, printables, emails to send to coaches, teachers, and camp directors, and a week’s worth of snack recipes.

What has your experience been like with snacks at preschool? Tell us in the comments!